


a study on the invincibility of 16-year-olds

by glittertears



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Gay Will Byers, General Teen Angst and Prolonged Staring, M/M, Modern Era, Mutual Pining, Overuse Of The Word 'Stupid', Pining, Underage Drinking, the underage drinking is v v brief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-10-30 00:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20805503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittertears/pseuds/glittertears
Summary: He knows people will kiss - they're young, and dumb, and full of laughter and brightness and so much love it makes him ache - but the idea is so far removed from his life, from his friends, from him, that seeing it startles him briefly.-snapshots of a misspent summer & some lovesick teens





	1. the party

Will's staring. He knows this, he doesn't want this, and he's trying to get his traitorous eyes to move away from the couple making out in the center of the room.

He knows people will kiss - they're young, and dumb, and full of laughter and brightness and so much love it makes him ache - but the idea is so far removed from his life, from his friends, from _him,_ that seeing it startles him briefly. He supposes that if no one's going to kill you for kissing it makes sense to do it as often as you can - here, in this stupid fancy house, at this stupid party, there are what seems like thousands of stupid teenagers with their stupid tongues so far down each others throats it's a miracle their stupid gag reflexes haven't acted up.

The lights are pulsing, bright flashing beams of light that make his eyes hurt, and the music is so loud that the bass is making the red plastic cups rattle on the table next to the throne of beer kegs. All Will really wants is to go home and lie face down on his bed and not move until some indefinite period of time in the future, but then there's a light hand on his shoulder and Mike's soft voice, the voice he only uses when he is very, very drunk, is drowning the Grease mega-mix that's been rattling the windows for what seems like hours now.

"Will," he's murmuring, "Do you want to get out of here?"

For one second Will's stupid heart betrays him, and he can feel his pulse quicken, but then Mike's talking about finding Dustin and Lucas and what seems like every other person in Indiana, and Will feels stupid for letting himself believe, but what else can he do? He can pretend, and believe, and forget, but he can never _have_. Not for himself. Not the way he wants.

Mike's arm stays around his shoulder as they stumble around, searching for the rest of the party, and Will thinks that he's never felt safer than he does at this very moment, despite the fact that Mike is ridiculously wasted and also wearing a vintage Power Puff Girls t-shirt. He finds himself staring at the other boy out of the corner of his eye, trying to commit every aspect of his face to memory - the shape of his nose, the length of his eyelashes, the way his hair sits _just so_ on his forehead. Everything about him is extrodinary in some ordinary way.

They find Max and El in the corner of the kitchen, talking about cats with the seriousness of the slightly tipsy - which is to say, not much.

In a break between giggles, Mike taps El on the shoulder - with the hand not currently draped over Will - and Will zones out while the request to leave is relayed, instead focusing on Mike's hands, one of which is hanging loosely over Will, long fingers bending slightly, palm facing in, towards Will's heart, while the other is merely a blur as it illustrates whatever convoluted argument is being made to convince the girls that leaving is the right choice to make.

"Will agrees" Mike says, turning his head to face the boy in question. Briefly, Will wonders at the angle of his neck and how it hasn't snapped yet, before he nods, unsure of what exactly he's agreeing to, but knowing that there's no way he would have disagreed with Mike anyway. Not when he's so warm and tactile and _happy_.

He allows himself to be pushed towards wherever Lucas and Dustin have hidden themselves and waits, ever so patiently, to leave so he can look up from the floor without being accosted by the sight of teenagers swapping spit.

After what feels like an age, they're out, walking along the road, and Mike is warm against Will's side, and his hair is tickling Will's nose and Will has never, in any of his 16 years, felt so free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bro they are just vibing


	2. the quarry

The sun is harsh on Will's face as he watches Mike attempt to teach Lucas to slow dance. He can feel his cheeks burning, but moving to fix it would mean he would be forced to sit with Dustin and the speaker, under the only tree large enough to provide any shade at the quarry, and Will doesn't think he's strong enough to break whatever gravitational pull Mike has over him.

Max calls his name, drawing him, briefly, from his reverie. Her nose is already peeling, and the redness in her face makes her eyes look all the brighter as she offers him the sunscreen with a smile.

Absorbed in coating his neck with sufficient protection, Will doesn't notice Mike move closer until he's _right there,_ and then all of Will's senses are filled with _Mike -_ the smell of his shirt, the warmth of his arm, the pressure of his hand on Will's shoulder.

The sight of his eyes meeting Will's with a small, shy smile

The pull in Will's stomach is growing stronger with every second spent staring at each other. If the world were to end right then and there, Will would be okay with that.

Dustin ruins the moment because he's Dustin, and he was born to tell jokes and ruin moments - often at the same time.

Will finds his hands caught in a tight, sweaty grip, and instead of Mike's soft smile, his vision is full of gappy teeth and all he can hear is Dustin saying "Will, Will, Will, I got an idea for a new campaign, it's so good, oh my God, oh my God, _oh my God_" over and over until the words run into each other, bending and melding until they're unrecognisable.

Will smiles, because not only is that what he is supposed to do, it's what he _wants_ to do, because Dustin is his friend and he loves him.

If his chest tightens at Mike's unwillingness to meet his eyes again, well, that's purely coincidental.

He follows Dustin to the shade of the tree, sitting as he tries very, very, very hard to listen to the vague plot his friend is outlining, but his head finds itself full of Mike, and his freckles, and his floppy hair, and his wide eyes, and the secret smile he was giving Will before Dustin interrupted.

As Dustin goes on about 'plot twists no one will see coming' and 'fucking massive battles, dude', Will nods half-heartedly, letting his eyes roam over to where El and Mike are sitting in the sun, eating watermelon stolen from the Wheeler's new fridge. El meets his eyes and waves excitedly, sending droplets of juice flying. Mike looks up, brief, but long enough for El to nudge his side and whisper something in his ear.

The ache Will's been feeling all year flares, and he turns quickly, back to where Dustin is still talking about ruined castles and defeating demogorgons to save princesses.

He misses how Mike's ears flame red enough to match Max's hair. He misses how long Mike stares at him after he turns away.

"So," Dustin says, breathing for what seems like the first time in minutes, "Thoughts?"

Will thinks that the snippets he heard sounded like one of those old period dramas they used to make everyone watch in history class, just with more magic. But he doesn't say that, because he knows Dustin is proud of this plan.

"Yeah," he says instead, "We can do something with that."

Dustin grins, slapping his back before running over to where Lucas and Max have been leaning against a boulder. Lucas has his hat pulled low enough to cover his eyes, and appears to be asleep. Will watches as Dustin throws himself on top of him, laughing as Lucas knees the other boy in his surprise.

Will smiles softly at them all, oblivious to the pair of eyes locked on himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, posting this when no one cares?? its more likely than u think! gshsgs anyway, not that anyone's going 2 answer this but like,,,, what do yall want to happen in this fic bc it is PLOTLESS babey!


	3. the wheeler's house

In the low light of the basement, Will can see every monster he's ever dreamed of - dragons and aboleths, devils and demons. 

He can hear the constant, reassuring thrum of Dustin's snores, and Max's gentle breaths. He can hear the little coughs Lucas does now and then, and the sleep mutterings of El. 

Most of all, Will can feel Mike, pressed against his back. He can feel Mike's steady heartbeat through his shirt. He can hear how soft Mike's breathing is. He's aware of every inch of his body, in that way that only Mike is capable of sparking. 

Will tries, he really does, to relax into sleep, but his brain is screaming '_MikeMikeMikeMike_' at him, and his chest clenches every time someone moves - afraid the disturbance would wake Mike, would break whatever spell has been placed over the Wheeler household. 

Will knows that if Mike wakes, there's no way he'd stay like he is now - pressed close to Will's back, head pressed to the back of his neck, arm thrown over his side (Will doesn't know how it got there, doesn't want to question it, lest whatever fragile sacrament holding them in place breaks).

So he lies there, in the dark, listening to the breathing of the party, thinking that this secret, accidental contact should not make him this _happy_ \- should not make his heart beat as fast as it is, should not make him smile the way he does. 

_Mike fucking Wheeler_ should not be making him _feel_ like this. 

Will closes his eyes, lies in the dark just listening, and thinking and _hoping. _Somehow, Mike burrows even closer (it seems impossible, but Will isn't surprised - for as long as they've known each other, Mike Wheeler has had a penchant for doing the impossible). Will just lies there - he can smell the shampoo Mike uses, can feel Mike's breath warm on his neck, can picture, if he tries hard enough, that they're in their own apartment - just the two of them, somewhere far from Hawkins. Somewhere better. 

His fantasizing is disrupted when the other boy jolts awake (upstairs, a door slams, a switch is flicked and it goes silent again). 

Will lies as still as he can - fearing that, if he so much as _breathes_, Mike will _know_ he's awake, will _know _that Will's been taking advantage of the inexplicable sleep hug. 

"Shit," he hears, "Fuck" 

Will's back gets suspiciously cold, but he keeps his eyes shut, ignores the knife twisting in his heart. 

"Will," he hears, Mike's voice quiet enough nobody else could possibly hear it - Will himself isn't even sure if _he_ was meant to. There's a pause before Mike continues. 

"I take it you aren't awake?" He sounds disappointed and relieved at the same time. Impossible again becoming possible just for this scrawny little kid.

Will's eyes stay shut anyway. His mouth stays closed. His chest stays hollow. Damn the impossible - he can't let Mike see how weird he is, how fucking _pathetic_ he is.

So he lies, eyes closed, mourning the warmth of Mike's breath, the pressure of his arm, the smell of his hair. Will mourns it all, because it's the closest they'd been in _months_ \- months full of girlfriends for Mike and loneliness for Will. Months of Mike's 90s teen fantasy and Will's 90s teen heartbreak. 

In the silence, he hears Mike sigh, feels his warmth, an arms breadth away. It feels like an uncrossable chasm. 

Will doesn't sleep all night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not that y'all care, but im going back to school tomorrow, so if i disappear u know whats up lmao
> 
> n e way i hope u liked this chapter! pls tell me what u think?
> 
> ( oh also, my computer is Broken so ive been writing this all on mobile n may have missed mistakes and stuff in editing, feel free to point them out )


	4. the mall

Hawkins is suffocating in the Summer - the heat clings to Will's skin, drags his eyes closed and sticks his legs to seat of his bike. Summer makes him feel trapped, like if he's not careful, some giant monster will destroy him - his home, his town, his life.

The entire town of Hawkins, Indiana seems to be hiding from the heat in the new mall, embracing the industrial-strength aircons with all they've got, and the party is no different. Normally, Will spends his Summer rotating through the same three places - Castle Byers, Mike's basement, home, Castle Byers, Mike's basement, home, over and over until school starts again. It's a safe routine, a familiar one, and Will thinks he should be allowed to grieve for a time he can never go back to. _It's not so bad, _Mike tries to tell him, whispers in his ear as they walk behind the others, _Starcourt has air conditioning, and as many free samples as stores will give to a group of unsupervised teenagers. _Will smiles at him, hopes that the heat covers for his red cheeks and sweaty palms.

They're standing in the Starcourt lobby, have been for what feels like an age, but, in reality, is only ten minutes. Dustin and Max are arguing - Dustin wants to go to Scoops Ahoy, promises free ice-cream, cool air, and Steve, while Max is arguing for the arcade, with its new games to play and high scores to make. It's strange to watch them - a verbal tennis match, insulting and pleading in the same breath - but Will couldn't really care less where they end up. Anywhere is better than here, where a blast of sickly hot air washes over the group every time someone new walks in the door. He finds himself staring out, through the doors, back on the summer he thought it would be. On the routine he thought he could stick to. Castle Byers, Mike's basement, home. Maybe the quarry, if Max feels pent up in the quiet, monotonous routine of a Hawkins school holiday.

It doesn't help his concentration that he can _feel _Mike standing behind him - he radiates warmth, like no other person Will's ever known, and if the heat wasn't making him sweat enough, Mike's presence is giving him goosebumps, and even though it's hot - a record-breaking temperature - he finds himself shivering.

"Hey," Mike whispers, quiet enough that no one else could hear him, quiet enough to make Will feel like he's the only person in existence, "You okay?"

Will's fine, he would be better, if Mike would just _move, _just let him breathe without smelling his shampoo, could just let him relax without his arms bumping Mike's legs. But also, he wants none of that, wants Mike to be as close as possible, purely for the sake of knowing he's _there. _

"Yeah," he says, but his voice comes out too soft, and cracks right in the middle, and it's clear Mike doesn't believe him - his eyebrows furrow and his lips do that thing that Lucas always mocks him for, where it looks like he's pouting for a selfie - so Will clears his throat and tries again, this time nodding as he says "I'm fine. Trust me."

Mike's still looking at him far too intensely to be normal, but finally, he nods. He moves to turn around, but seems to think better of it, as he catches Will's hand.

"Hey", he says, swallows thickly, "Come to the toilet with me?"

Will nods because this, at least, is a return to semi-normality. Whenever they're in unfamiliar situations, Mike and Will stick together. It's an unspoken pact they have, and Will hopes he never sees the day that it's broken.

Mike's still glancing at him sporadically as they walk to the bathroom - quick, secretive glances when he thinks Will isn't looking, or won't notice. Will's always looking. He always notices. They're walking side-by-side, and so close together that every few seconds their hands touch, and it sends a jolt through Will's whole body. Mike always smiles at him afterwards, small and apologetic, like he thinks Will's jerking away because he doesn't like it, or because it makes him uncomfortable. Neither of them tries to make any room though, and Will reaches the bathroom with his shoulders brushing Mike's and his heart beating against his rib cage.

He stands awkwardly for a few seconds, as if he were waiting for something, but he doesn't know what - Mike moving towards the actual _toilet _part of the toilets, maybe, or even just someone leaving the bathroom. Mike opens his mouth and shuts it in a split second - like he has something to say but doesn't want to share it. There's an open window sitting high on the wall, and Will's starting to sweat again. They're staring at each other, Mike and Will, Will and Mike, just like it's always been, just like Will hopes it always is.

Mike licks his lips, and Will tries, and fails, to look anywhere else. They've been standing in the doorway for over a minute, and no one has come in or out. Will can feel his stomach twist, thinks that this is a moment that always brings something monumental with it. Something life changing. He doesn't know how much more change he can handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yee boi we back sorry this took so long jashgfd i'm,,,, Struggling w School bc my brain went bye bye. 
> 
> but anyway, thank u for reading!! i hope u enjoyed follow me on tumblr if u want (@poetsnufkin) :)
> 
> ( also like... tell me if u want 2 see specific places / plot and i'll do my best to include it uwu )
> 
> it's 1:30am so im going to SLEEP but tell me if u enjoyed it (or if u thought it was shit) and i will try update soon-ish for the two ppl reading this :')


	5. the bathroom

Mike's hand is on Will's shoulder, and their lips are together, _finally, _and Will's been aching, aching, aching, for this moment since he can remember. As Mike pulls away, Will's sure that his skin is shrinking in on him, or maybe it's chasing after Mike, but either way, Will's sure that it's trapping him. It feels so tight that he knows, he _knows _that eventually it'll be so small his bones start to poke through and he'll finally shed the childhood nickname of 'Zombie Boy' and become 'Skeleton Boy' instead. He knows he's thinking too much - compensating for his lack of thinking about what just happened. He's still staring at Mike's face, and he thinks he's probably gaping like a fish, but it's okay because Mike kissed him.

Mike Wheeler _kissed him_. Mike smiles tentatively, and Will grins back, and he feels like he's breathing for the first time in his life - like every time before this was just practice, and now he's come in first.

They're both standing there, in front of the bathroom door, grinning at each other as though there's nothing else in the world to do - no friends waiting for them, no Hawkins to navigate, no families to deal with. For that moment it's just them. Will and Mike. Mike and Will. Nothing else matters, and while Will knows that eventually someone will open the door that's separating this time from the rest of their lives.

Will's never thought there was anything romantic about a bathroom, but Mike Wheeler's full of surprises. He always has been.

The door slams open, and Will doesn't remember moving back from Mike, but he has, and Mike's done the same. Lucas evidently doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary - doesn't hear how shallow Mike's breaths are, doesn't see how badly Will's hands are shaking - because he just says "Hurry up" before closing the door again.

Mike smiles at him again - the same secret smile from the quarry - and whatever's left of Will's heart after years, and _years, _of pining, melts.

So they leave their private bathroom sanctuary, and they go to Scoops Ahoy for Dustin, and then the arcade for Max, because Lucas, ever the diplomat, is incapable of denying his two favourite people anything.

It's nice to be with his friends, and it's amazing to be in the air conditioning, and Will should be appreciating this more - this time to be a _teenager _\- but all he wants is for it to be 5 already, so that as everyone goes home he and Mike continue their own private tradition of a sleepover after almost every group meet up.

So Will nods, smiles, and laughs his way through another three hours of mindless talks, and returns Mike's furtive glances at every opportunity, and finally, finally, his hard work pays off, because it's five-fifteen, and he and Mike are the only ones from the party standing in front of Starcourt Mall.

"So," Mike starts, voice breaks giving away his nerves, "Um."

"Yeah," Will laughs, because "um" sums it up pretty well, he thinks.

Whatever awkwardness is left is gone in the second it takes him to finish his laugh, and they're left to debate which house to stay at, like they do every time this happens - Mike wants Will's house, because it has Jonathon's music, and Chester and the family warmth he always wants, and Will wants Mike's because it means he doesn't have to feel self-conscious about every aspect of his house - from the charred carpets to the peeling paint. And anyway, Mike's got the basement, where no one will walk in on them, so they can do whatever they want without fear, unlike Will's, where Joyce is always seconds away from bursting in.

Will wins the debate, like he does every time this happens.

As they ride home, Mike takes his hands off the handles and raises them to the sky, like he's challenging everyone in the world to a fight only he knows about, and Will laughs at him softly, watching the way his hair falls messily around his face, slightly slicked back from the sweat, and Will feels like the luckiest guy in the world, like loving Mike Wheeler is the easiest thing in the world.

And maybe it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we did it, lads :) 
> 
> um sorry this took so long i've been Sad but i wanted it out this decade ( lol )
> 
> anyway thanks for reading !! hope u enjoyed pls point out any eras i may eventually put all these chapters into 1 just bc they're all rlly short, but idk yet 
> 
> n e wayz this was like my first Proper Fanfic and it was cathartic to write so :') hope u had as much fun as me & of course, remember to follow my tumblr @poetsnufkin uwu

**Author's Note:**

> my writing style seems to change every other sentence and idk what to do abt it lol


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